It's just too real
by truth-hater
Summary: Uo really likes Hanjima. Hanjima really likes Uo. But will they overcome their past and their present, so afraid not to destroy what they already have? shoujo ai Saki x Arisa plz R
1. I'm not

**Summary: **_Uo really likes Hanjima. Hanjima really likes Uo. But will they overcome their past and their present, so afraid not to destroy what they already have? shoujo-aiSaki x Arisa_

**Disclaimer:** _None of the characters or Furuba belong to me, I really like Natsuki's job on that one. _

**Suggested Music while reading:** _Fall Out Boy - Thanks for the Memories_

**Comments:** _Not sure yet, whether to continue the fic or not..._

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"See you tomorrow!", Tohru waived happily to Uo and Hanajima, before she turned to walk home with Kyo and Yuki after a very long day. A few high school kids were still at school to help clean up, but most of them were leaving now.

"Bye!", smiled her girlfriends, Uo as always giggling at Kyo who was obviously trying not to be his usual grumpy self. Yuki beat him yet again today, at the school's very first tennis tournament- poorly organized, but the principal promised to improve next year. Many students both sighed at the fact that there was going to be a next year and that surely they would make everybody participate. Only Hanajima didn't seem to be bothered by that, although she was the least enthusiastic about sports... Uo adored that.

"Isn't she sweet?", the Yankee asked, referring to Tohru of course.

"Don't make me jealous.", the other one laughed and started walking towards the subway entrance. "Do you have a ticket?"

"Right here... one sec." Arisa began to go through her backpack, occasionally dropping one or two unimportant school books to the ground. Where in heaven's name had she put that piece of paper? Saki looked at her amused. On one hand she found it interesting, how careless her friend treated her school things, just to focus so determined on finding that ticket. She loved that.

"Got it, let's go!", the blonde pulled her down the stairs and into the cool, stone halls of the underground system, a few laughs from a group of classmates sounded through the tunnel. "You want a drink before the train leaves?"

"No, thanks, we should start English homework, if we have time.", the girl in black answered as she inserted a crumpled up shred of paper into the automatic gate, went through as it opened and took it back out on the other side.

Uo followed her a little surprised. "Since when do _you_ worry about things like that?" There was a short break, other people wouldn't even have identified it as such. "I don't. I just want to get it over with." But Arisa noticed the by now passed silence and looked at her friend skeptically from the side. "Despite the fact that even that is unusual- you're lying." "I'm not."

They walked along the white line on the platform, it had filled up pretty well with students in the past fifteen minutes. A few girls were complaining how cold they were, since it was sunny up on ground-level and they hadn't brought any jackets. Hanajima's gaze stuck to a particularly pretty one, who seemed to withstand the urge to shiver uncontrollably very well, looking somewhat entertained at her yammering friends.

"Why are you looking at Miyagi-chan?"

"I'm not." _Since when did Uo call her chan...?!_

"Do you fancy her?"

"Well, _I _don't."

The Yankee stopped so suddenly, that Saki went on and only noticed a few moments later that she was alone. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, I fancy her?" A very pale expression had taken over Arisas beautiful face.

"I didn't say that and you accused me of the exact same thing.", the other girl replied calmly, looking her directly in the eye. "But I know you don't look down on her like you despise the others."

That was Hanajima with the electromagnetic waves. Of course she knew. But somehow this broke the Yankee's heart horribly.

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**Comments? I can take criticism. )**


	2. No Doubt

**Suggested Music while reading:** _Bullet for my Valentine - All these Things I hate_

**Comments:** _I think the chapters should get longer... xD_

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"Do you want some tea?" "Ah, yes please."

Hanajima left the room, one could barley hear her steps leading down into the kitchen. Arisa sighed and dropped her school bag to the ground next to the bed, before she let herself fall into the pile of pillows.

Wow, Saki thought she was friends with Myiagi- or even more than that. It was probably safe to say that this was horrible. So she was a nice girl and Uo didn't feel the urge to teach her some sort of a lesson. But that was because Miyagi was actually very similar to herself, there was nothing to teach her. And yes, they had hung out for a while some time ago. Had Hana already known back then? The Yankee had definitely tried to keep it a secret, it could have cost her her image, being seen "making friends" (but that didn't even come anywhere near the truth) with the girlies. _Not_ cool.

"Hello." The high school girl didn't even have to look up to know that Megumi was talking to her through the open door from his room, which was right next to Hanajima's. "What's up?", she answered not bothering to try and sound happy.

"Are you okay?" Uo laughed slightly. "You didn't even answer the question."

He came in and sat down at the kotatsu. "What question?"

"Not that important, never mind." A short silence.

"You didn't answer mine either.", the boy remarked.

"What que- Oh, yeah I'm fine."

"Thank you." "Huh? What for...?", Arisa lifted her head and saw that Saki had come back up and was passing out the tea, still making no noise whatsoever. Smiling the blonde looked at her for a few seconds. All her movements were so soft and elegant, calm and soothing.

"Why are you watching me?", she finally asked, although hesitantly. Hanjima knew exactly what answer she would like to hear to that question... _You're beautiful, you know that?_

"Indeed she is.", Megumi agreed and lifted his cup to his mouth. What? Had Uo just actually said that...? The girl in black looked up in astonishment- the waves left no doubt.

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**Yup, already over. ;)**


	3. Apple Tea

**Comments:** Yay, finally continuing!

Violetdragonofthesea: Totally my favorite pairing, too, they would be hella adorable...

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Uo hesitated for a second and looked into Hanajima's eyes in surprise. Had she really just said that? Had she not been planning on taming her mouth on that subject?

Her cup was still in midair, when the girl across the table looked up as well. "Are you okay?"

Arisa blinked, shook her head and took a sip. It was sweet apple tea and it warmed her soul. Or was it the tea? "Yeah, I'm fine."

She rearranged her position. "Wanna get going on that English homework? All that vocabulary is driving me nuts."

Saki smirked. The English homework, huh? Clearly she wasn't the only one hiding something. But what was Uo-san's secret? Her stomach cringed slightly as she thought of Myiagi. No, not that...

"Have fun guys.", Megumi remarked all of a sudden and had already closed the door to his room a moment later. It took a while to get used to his behavior, but if you thought about it, it all made perfect sense.

"Yes, it's pretty intense.", Hanajima answered with obvious disinterest in Vocabulary, not signaling that she had noticed her brother leave the room. Again Uo couldn't help but smile at that deep calmness. The world was at peace when Saki was around.

"Ah! Damn!" The Yankee dropped her cup when a few drops of the hot liquid had spilled on her wrist. Now the warm smell of apples sank into her skirt. "Man, that hurts!", she pressed her teeth together and tried to prevent the steaming tea to burn her thighs.

"Here." Hanajima dabbed at the spot with a handkerchief. The pain didn't go away, but it felt a lot better.

"I'm sorry, I can do it." Arisa tried to grab the white piece of cloth. Their hands touched and the dark-haired girl suddenly pulled back, before she realized what she was doing.

They stared at each other. "Saki..."

The word escaped Uo's mouth before she could prevent herself from opening it and she regretted it instantly. "I mean-"

Hanajima dropped the handkerchief. "What did you just call me?"

A cold hand gripped Arisa's heart. "N... Nothing, I swear. I was just..."

"Just what?"

"...out of it. I guess I can't handle the heat." _Wow, that sounded wrong._

Saki looked even more confused.

"Of the tea, I mean."

No one moved.

"Oh.", she finally replied., "Of the tea." She got up and sat back down again immediately. "No problem."

She went on dabbing the spot.

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Half an hour later they had finally gotten over the awkward tea ceremony and Uo was lying on the bed, staring at her long vocabulary list for English. Whoever had the idea of going global, anyway? Or not hiring translators for every occasion when interaction with the rest of the world was required? Those poor people needed their jobs.

She glanced over at Hanajima. She was fully engrossed in her work and had probably memorized half of the words already. But that didn't matter.

What mattered was her fine, black hair, falling smoothly down her neck and curling up in little circles on the ground. Was how her eyes anxiously glided from one line to the next, taking in all the information. And in what ever so slight movements her lips parted to form the strange sounds in her mouth.

Arisa bit her own lip. _Focus, honey._

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**We're getting to the point pretty soon. ;)**


	4. You've got Mail

**Suggested music while reading:** Michael Buble - Grown up Christmas List

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Uo dropped her school bag on her bed and flung herself next to it. She lay there silent for a minute, while the last birds of the day sang an annoyingly happy hymn through the open window.

It wasn't that she was depressed. But it hadn't happened today. Again.

Ever single time she went to Hanajma's house she thought this would be the day they both suddenly kissed and worked it all out afterwards. Maybe decided to keep it a secret, would end up living together after high school... whatever.

By now Uo would be happy with a simple hug. But as direct and harsh she was in other situations, when it came to Saki that was all gone.

The worst part was, that the blonde kept seeing signs. Things that Hanajima did, said, the way she smiled, seemed uncomfortable. Anything that might have indicated that she liked her best friend a little more than usual as well.

But she was being paranoid. She _wanted_ to see these things, to find these feelings in the dark beauty. That didn't automatically mean they were there.

Her cell blinked.

_New e-mail._

What? Who would spend so much money on sending an e-mail to her phone?

She opened it.

_sry bout ur skirt. wanna hang out tmrw?_

The skirt? That must be Saki. She never signed messages, because she hardly texted.

Arisa ignored how much it would cost to reply in an e-mail. Hana didn't have a cell, so this would have to do. She typed:

_no prob, my fault. what d'u wanna do?_

A minute later (the Yankee had been staring at the screen, waiting for it to light up) the response came in.

_dunno, go to the movies?_

Uo felt the uneasiness crawling up her spine. Alone? Or did she mean including Tohru? If she didn't... this could be a date. _Um, no. _Another hint. She cleared her throat at the thought. Maybe Hanajima did like her - _Don't get paranoid! -_ just a little bit? She sighed. _I'm not about to get my hopes up._

_k, ill meet u at the theater 2mrwnite. 7_

Five minutes later she realized that they could have gone to see a movie right after school. In the afternoon. In a more friend-like, un-date-ish atmosphere. Maybe Hana was wondering what was wrong with the weird blonde, but she hadn't messaged back.

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In fact, on the other end of the district Saki was smiling to herself, glad things had worked out like this, without _her_ having to make it an evening thing.

What if, theoretically, Arisa did like her back...? _Stop hallucinating. It's just not meant to be. The waves told you so. You know she's in love with someone who deserves her... And that can't mean you._

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Uo crossed her arms and rubbed against them with her hands. After the 15 minute walk to the shopping district she realized she should have brought a jacket, but she couldn't find one that was neither saying "I don't care about how I look" nor implying "I'm desperately trying to make you fall in love with me".

Sighing she looked out of the window of the lobby in the theater, not really seeing anything, but staring into the future. How unimportant these childish wishes, longings, for a girl actually were. She should probably worry about college, or a decent job afte-

But then she came in. Calm and quiet as always, letting the door behind her swing back into the frame. And Arisa couldn't be bothered by mature thoughts anymore, instead she jumped up and gasped for a second.

Hanajima's hands struggled to stay still as they itched to pull down the black way-too-short-for-school skirt. When she saw Uo-chan's shocked expression wandering down towards her legs, her initial smile slowly faded.

She was right, Arisa's heart did skip a beat and she immediately jumped up. "Hey! Glad you're here!" The blonde was all smiles, playing her act perfectly. There was no way Hanajima could find out her best friend could be turned on by one silly skirt.

But she didn't fool the black-haired girl at all. _She's lying to me. She knows I like her and tries to hide it to save our friendship._ She wanted to rip off that skirt, if it hadn't made things just a little bit worse. "Yeah. So what movie are we watching?"

"There's this new suspense thriller with Sean Bean- isn't he real cute, even for his age?" The Yankee shot her a curious look.

Hana blushed and felt her stomach move a way it probably shouldn't. Totally into the guys. Of course she had to prove that now. "Um, sure..."

And her friend laughed. She had just wanted to hear that again.

"Two for Flight Plan, please.", she said, basically taking over the man's role.

"Sorry, sold out tonight.", the man behind the desk commented with an obvious disinterest.

Uo's face went a little paler. "But the only other movie in the next half-hour is that weird-"

"Hitch."

Yes, that one. With Will Smith, one of America's #1 sex symbols. Not exactly her type. Besides, it'd been showing for a few months now. What was up with this outdated place?

"Okay, we'll take it.", Saki replied, looking at the guy with a somewhat creepy smile.

"O- okay."

Arisa raised an eyebrow while she put down the money for both of the tickets, but the gothic girl silenced her with a waive. Neither of them noticed that friends actually split the bill. "Let's go."

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The first part of the movie wasn't actually that bad, Uo caught herself honestly laughing at some pretty funny scenes. Then she realized that Hana was probably not laughing and she stopped suddenly and looked over, to see her smiling a big grin. It filled the Yankee's heart with joy to make her so happy.

But then the bad part came... Will Smith lost his girlfriend on completely unfair grounds and was trying to win her back. They both sighed. _Oh, give me a break..._

Uo saw her chance, though, and sarcastically put her arm around Hana. "Wow, can you take the suspense, babe?", she whispered grinning.

For a moment Saki looked up confused, probably for the first time since... well, since she made friends with Tohru actually. "Nope, it's killing me. I need someone to hold my hand." A quiet snigger followed.

Of course she didn't expect for Arisa to follow through, but she did and leaned her head against Hana's forehead for a second, looking her directly and thoughtfully in the eyes. "Better?" It was barely audible, she breathed it so softly.

Saki looked down, but pulled her head right back up. "Much..." She wasn't sure if the words had actually came out of her mouth, but she didn't want to break the stillness.

Uo bit her lip. This was too tempting. Why had she even gone this far? If she didn't pull out of this position right away, she would probably lean in and-

Too late. Hanajima put her head on the other girl's chest and rested it there for the rest of the film.

_Phew. So close._

The blonde tightened the grip on the pale hand somewhat, not knowing she'd just sent a thousand warm sparks through that one simple touch.

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**Well, conveniently my favorite movie Flight Plan and Hitch (which I probably only like, because of Will Smith, cuz I'm shallow like that) both came out in 2005, so quite a few years ago.**

**Still, Hitch came out in like February and Flight Plan was November? December? xD So I had to throw that comment of Uo's in.**

**EVERYBODY GO SEE FLIGHT PLAN!!**


	5. Too real

**Straight to the new chapter...**

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Hana and Uo walked out of the theater feeling strangely light and relieved, but neither could really put their finger on the reason why. As if they had shared a moment in there... Impossible of course, but still.

"So, um, do you want a drink or something?", Uo asked.

_If you come with it..._ "I don't want you to pay for my stuff." It sounded a little awkward, but Arisa felt slightly rejected. "Oh, okay."

They stood in front of the entrance and each waited for the other one to say something.

"Do you wanna hang out or do you have homework to do?", the Yankee said, trying to make some conversation.

"Sure- we can hang out. Is your dad home?"

"No. Wait- why does it matter?" "Dunno, just thought I'd ask." "Okay."

Uo seriously didn't want to think about why Saki wanted to be alone. Too tempting.

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"Home sweet home." The blonde like always dropped her things on the floor right where she stood. It was obvious that this habit had been going on for a while.

"Do you want me to help clean up?", Hana asked picking up a jacket and hanging it on the coat rack only a few feet above it.

"Huh? No! No, have a seat, I'll do it."

Uo smiled and gave her friend a slight push, so that she had to drop onto a stack of pillows on the floor. "The remote should be somewhere in that pile."

Hana nodded and decided to sit on each cushion to see if the TV would turn on. Finally a silky orange one triggered the power button and she reached underneath it to pull out the black control.

"News?", she asked.

A beautiful, but serious looking woman was putting on her biggest smile to report about an abandoned box of puppies that had been rescued from the side of the freeway.

"Sure."

"Really?" Saki was honestly surprised.

"Nah."

Arisa put away the last pair of socks and flung herself next to the dark haired girl. "Here, gimme that." She reached for the remote, but it moved to the other side of Hanajima in a hurry.

"Hey!" Uo pouted and Hana laughed. "_I_ can find something good."

The screen flickered and a soap opera came on. _"No, Hiroshi-san! Don't die- please!"_ Dramatic music emphasized a fatal bullet wound in the character's chest, rested in a young woman's lap. He was lying in a dark ally way, but his make-up was stunningly perfect.

Saki sniggered.

"Wow, way to loose your remote privileges, girl.", the Yankee tried to put on a sour face and dove for the small black bar of power once more.

"No way, can't you see poor Hiroshi-san is about to die? The Tokyo Mafia actually got him this time..." Hana held it up, then shielded it with her body when the other girl leaned in to pluck it from her fingers.

Uo sighed. "You're hopeless." She wrapped her arms around Saki from behind and tried to wrestle the precious object from her hands. For a short moment her lips parted to form a big grin. "Just give up."

But the witch laughed harder and cringed, desperately trying to get the remote out of the Yankee's reach. "Now we'll never find out if he had an affair with that waitress."

The blonde rolled her eyes and decided to change her strategy. She let go -causing the girl to roll on her back- and then quickly put her weight on Hana's legs and chest. "You're doomed."

The trapped one gasped, which in addition to laughing robbed her of a significant amount of oxygen, but went back to holding the control up above her head. "I think _you_ should just give up- Oh!"

Her head snapped in the direction of the TV.

Uo's followed. "What? What happened?" She couldn't make out anything worse than Hiroshi closing his eyes for good, the woman still sobbing into his hand.

"Gotcha.", Saki grinned.

When Arisa looked back at her the remote was gone. "Huh? What did you do with it??" Her eyes wandered to a suspicious lump under Hana's shirt. She sucked in air. Oh, this was too much tension for her to take...

But the black haired girl was still grinning. _This is soo great... She'll never go there. Even though she should._

The Yankee was on top of her feelings again. "Think I'm scared?"

"Very much so, yes."

One short second of hesitation, then the blonde's fingers crawled up Saki's stomach and underneath the dark fabric. She kept her eyes fixed on the other girl's ones and she did the same. The laughing had died off, but she didn't move otherwise.

Uo's hand reached Hana's chest. She couldn't help it- she went slower, taking a slight detour over the side of the left one. The skin was warm and soft, enveloping her in a cozy comfort. After a few endless moments she finally arrived at the remote. Her fingers curled around it, she drew it in.

Then suddenly it was yanked back. Saki was pulling on the other end, forcing Arisa to let go and come up further. Her voice was no more than a whisper and her chest rose and sank with every breath: "That would have been too easy."

Uo didn't give up. She went up further, as did the object she was longing for. Then it came to a halt. The blonde looked surprised but put her hand over it.

For a moment nothing moved, no one breathed, just stared. Then Saki pulled one last time and Arisa's fingers dropped right on her nipple. Uo's eyes grew big, Hana drew in a deep breath- and nodded slightly. And in that moment they both knew. The Yankee started playing with the anatomy beneath her, casting a big smile on the witch's face. _This is too real..._

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**A few more chapters coming up! **


	6. ゴ デッス うお

**Wow, this has taken me for ever... haha my bad, sorry!!!**

**Listened to Fort Minor's "Remember the Name" this time. =]**

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What I remember the most was her hot breath on my neck. Her face was so close that every time she breathed my skin tingled, screamed for cool relief from the burning stream of air, only to miss the pain of feeling her again the next moment.

If I have been seeing her in my dreams for so long, if I've cherished every single time I was allowed to just touch her briefly. If one second knowing that she thought the same way of me fulfilled my destiny.

Then why did taking that last step open this gaping wound in my chest?

"Saki. What are you thinking?"

Hanajima opened her eyes. She was still lying here underneath her. Only now did she notice how much strain Uo's weight was putting on her legs.

It wasn't that Hana didn't want this. Arisa was a goddess in her eyes, an immeasurable amount of beauty and desire. No one could stay strong in the face of this kind of temptation. The black-haired girl didn't know what to answer.

"For how long?" She said instead.

Uo rested her hands and chin on Hana's chest. "I think it really started a long time ago. There was always this little voice in my head asking myself where you are, if you're okay, you know? All the time. And then it started painting pictures of you... with me. And we looked happy. So happy."

The Yankee looked up and laughed. "Wow. I was not planning on telling you that ever."

Hanajima smiled. "I'm thinking that you're adorable." She felt relief, and sorrow, and so much love. "I don't know how I ever did without this."

"You won't ever have to, Saki."

For a moment the witch thought to feel an 'I love you' in Arisa's throat, but it didn't come.

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**More next time, I promise!**

"Dare I say it's my forte?" Saki acknowledged and leaned against Arisa's back. The blonde silently wrapped an arm around her friend's waste. Hana felt the strong fingers dig into her skin ever so slightly. Electrifying waves pulsed up her veins and into her brain, numbing any sense she ever had for anything other than Uo.


	7. Down the Stairs

**Well, it's been, like, a year. lol**

"Shit." Uo's hand had left a bloody print on the door knob to her house. Hastily she tried to clean it off with her sleeve, so her dad wouldn't see it when he got home and get mad at her.

It had been such a long time since that stuff had happened. It had been hell for herself, hell for her parents, her teachers… Such a waste of time, Arisa thought bitterly. If they started coming after her again now- fuck, there were people she needed to protect from those fucks!

She dropped her jacket and school bag in the bathroom and started running cold water over her face. It was a tantalizing mix of burning flesh and sweet relief. Her eyes closed as she just stood there, leaning over the sink. Looking back, she didn't understand why she ever called "those fucks" her friends. Had been loyal to them and set them above pretty much anything that would have made her life worth living.

She wouldn't make that same mistake again. They knew that. But something had made them come back. And an uncontrollable fear came over Uo when she thought of who else might feel their anger.

The next day, people were fawning all over the blonde, because half her face was covered in bandages.

"Uo-chaaaan does it hurt a lot?" Toru said with a sad face.

Arisa, Toru, Hanajima, and the Somas were sitting in the school court yard having their lunches.

"Those were some nasty stairs you fell down, huh." Kyo remarked suspiciously. Momiji immediately interjected, "Ooh, you weren't _pushed_, were you?" His excited facial expression let on he would have found that circumstance inappropriately intriguing.

For the first time that day, Arisa laughed. "God no, our housekeeper had just scrubbed all the floors, so they were slippery. Let's talk about something else." Her gaze quickly fell on Saki, as it often did, who was quietly picking apart a piece of salmon with her chopsticks.

The discussion turned to the upcoming school break and by the end of lunch Uo could pull aside her dark-haired friend subtly. They walked in the other direction, as everyone else went back to class, and ignored the bells calling them back.

"Saki, something happened yesterday." The Yankee let out a relaxing breath. On the busy street near their school the smell of steamed rice and beef taunted passersby. Beautiful women in heels, men in trench coats, even a flock of birds seemed to have somewhere they needed to be five minutes ago. In the crowd of rushing people, Uo felt like she was the only one being left behind.

She was going back where she came from, it seemed. She stopped and idled for a moment, Hanajima keeping close to her with a sort of dreading curiosity. Arisa put an arm around her waist as she leaned against the window of a convenience store.

"The girls I used to hang out with. They cornered me on the way home and asked me what I was up to these days, what I've been doing, stuff like that. But I knew that's not why they came and found me, so I blew them off."

Saki was staring, reading her friend's waves. "And then they attacked you, didn't they." She said.

"Yeah. But I don't care about that so much as _why they're doing this now. I mean, why the fuck do they still care about me? It's been so long. I just don't understand…" The blonde trailed off._

"_Arisa." The witch whispered. "It hurts me so much that they caused you pain. I'm angry."_

_Uo yanked her into a hug before the other girl could see her eyes getting red. "All I care about is not letting them take over my life again. I don't want them to ruin everything."_


	8. Noodle Soup

***chrm chrm***

"Phew!" Uo flung herself into a seat at a table in the restaurant where she worked as a waitress. Her shift had just ended and now she could finally order that noodle soup that had looked so yummy for hours while she had had to serve it to other people.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. When she looked up again, there was another girl sitting at the table. Her hair was bleached blonde and she wore a long coat, even in summer. It was the head of Uo's former gang, Natsuko. During Uo's time, Natsuko had still been an average member, but now she seemed to be the bitter leader of the pack- just like all the leaders before her.

"So do you like working in this shit hole?" Natsuko said unceremoniously, leaning back in her chair, the better to study Uo's reaction.

For some reason, Uo felt a calm coming over herself. She could control this situation. She even felt generous. "One more ramen, Sho!" She yelled at one of the cooks.

"What are you doing, ordering food for me?" Natsuko spat. "I don't need your help. You don't have to pretend that working as a goddamn waitress gives you a better life than mine."

Normally, Arisa would have gotten defensive immediately, maybe saying that her jobs let her do things that made her happy, like going to the movies with her friends or something. But she wasn't in that kind of mood. Where did all this calm security come from? She felt so… superior, that defending her lifestyle didn't even matter anymore.

"My job is not what makes my life better than yours." She just said mysteriously. Two bowls of ramen arrived at their table at that moment and Natsuko jumped on hers, slurping down noodles as though someone was about to take them away again. "I'm not paying for this, you know." She said defiantly between bites.

They ate in silence for a while. "It's better to be in that out, you know." Natsuko went on. "I know exactly what you do all day. You go to school, you go home, you do homework. Over and over again, every single day. Your life is pure hell." She smiled assuredly at this.

"I know whether it's better to be in than out." Uo replied. "I've been on both sides. But what makes _you so sure that you have the answer, Natsuko?"_

_The gang leader grew agitated. "I'm sick of your goddamn holier-than-thou routine, Uo! I know what I know, but if you think you've got the answer to everything, then why don't you just tell me?" Her bowl was empty and she was eager to complete what she came here to do: Make sure Uo knew very well which side the good life was on._

_Arisa laughed a little when she thought about this. The answer. That was a big concept, but she certainly knew what popped into her head first. It always dressed in black, knew more than you ever did about yourself, and had the most angelic face you'd ever seen. It was love._

"_You would never believe me if I told you." She said._

_With that, Uo dropped some money on the table and left._


	9. Toy Story Saving People

"I've always loved this movie," Hanajima smiled when Uo put in "Toy Story."

"You have?" The blonde laughed. "I didn't think you were the type."

They sat down next to each other on Uo's couch, each balancing little boxes of homemade tempura on their laps. Hanajima picked up one of the little animals and inspected it closely. "I think to pass this unit of the cooking class we'll have to practice this a few more times."

"Or let Toru take care of that for us," Arisa giggled and casually slung an arm around the other girl's hips.

Saki smiled. Arisa's touch always had that effect on her and she looked over at her girl. She'd taken off the bandages on her face and the rest of the wounds that were still visible were healing fast. And even with those thin red slashes on her face she was still so beautiful... Saki liked that they could do anything together, from doing homework to watching silly kids movies and cooking. She gingerly touched Uo's face.

But the blonde looked down suddenly. "So Natsuko stopped by the restaurant last night."

Hanajima looked at her girl surprised. The waves she was receiving felt a tad worried and uneasy. "What did she say?"

"I think she was trying to tell me to come back to the gang... She said some things about how my life must suck."

"Do you think your life sucks?" Saki asked.

"No!" Uo replied fast and put her head on Saki's shoulder. "I love my life... But I think maybe Natsuko is realizing that _her_ life isn't as great as she thought." There was a brief pause, in which Hanajima set down her plate of tempura and put her arm around Uo.

Arisa seemed to think about her words carefully. "Maybe... I can help them. If they could see that all their life needs is some good friends... stability... that it can be better than they think, even going to school and stuff... Then maybe I could help them."

Hanajima knew that they all had a story to tell about the value of good friends. It sounded like Uo had gotten somewhere with Natsuko the other night. She felt a slight pang of jealousy that Arisa would want to help her old gang members rather than just being happy with her life now. Her life with Saki.

"It could be dangerous." The dark-haired girl heard herself say. "I don't think they want to be reformed."

"Not yet..." Uo said vaguely.

"It's okay, I get it. I think it's good that you want to help them. "

Uo turned to face Hanajima. "Really" A hopeful smile crossed her face that Hanajima could only return. Even with her worries about what those girls might try to do to Arisa again... Those painful memories from her former life made it clear that she had to give it a try. Saki was so happy that Toru and Arisa had saved her...

She leaned down to kiss the blonde. And Uo was immensely glad that Hanajima thought it was a good idea. She pulled in the other girl closer and let her own hands travel down her back and up her neck, along her sides and always tugging slightly at the tight, black fabric that covered almost every inch of her.

Saki smiled into the kiss and ran her fingers through Arisa's beautifully straight hair, grabbing on tighter as the other girl pulled more urgently on her dress. She felt surrounded by a thick air of wanting and it felt so good. Being loved by family and friends would never compare to this impenetrable feeling of being truly desired.

She let Uo carefully slide the gown's zipper down her back, and she nibbled at the Yankee's neck and shoulders just to make it blissfully obvious what she wanted to happen next.

Uo couldn't stop grinning and kept imagining everything under Hanajima's dress, even as she was pulling it down. When the bodice fell to her hips, Uo's breath caught in her mouth. Hanajima's breasts were full and round, intoxicating and stunning to look at.

"Come with me," She whispered to Saki and led her by the hand to her room, where she pulled the girl down on her back.

Saki had never even dreamed of anything as alluring as seeing Arisa pull down lengths of fabric from her body, with a hungry, insatiable expression on her face. "Arisa..." She winced finally. "No more teasing."

Uo's grin broadened as she looked up and down her very own girl and slid her hands up those tiny exposed thighs, even under the pair of form-hugging black underwear. "If you really want me to, Saki," She replied, tugging down the last piece of cloth covering the dark-haired girl.

Hearing her name almost made Hanajima high and she cringed with pleasure as one of Uo's fingers entered her and her tongue began to flick around the entrance thirstily.

"Oh, god," Hanajima sighed. She couldn't help but press her hands on Uo's head and push her mouth closer to that fabulous-feeling place. Immediately, the fingers inside of her moved faster, topped only by the lips sucking and pulling gently at the skin around them. When the waves of pleasure became too much to bare, everything in her body seemed to tense up and release itself all at once in a shot of ecstasy that had her screaming Arisa's name in shock.


End file.
